Shelton, who soon will leave his collegiate post in Tucson, is being brought in to rehabilitate an organization rocked by an internal investigation that found widespread corruption and mismanagement of funds. He replaces John Junker, who was fired in late March after the public release of many of the investigation's findings, which ranged from bowl-paid strip-club trips to potentially illegal reimbursement of employee donations to political campaigns.

Two other bowl executives also were forced to resign in the report's wake, and the bowl has begun to implement a series of reforms.

Shelton, who was entering the final year of his UA contract, said the Fiesta Bowl job offered him an important challenge.

"If you look at the long term, this is an organization that really is integral to what is happening in Maricopa County, and by extension, the state," Shelton said in an interview. "They have a terrific reputation. They have fallen from grace, but they are putting things back together. It looked like a wonderful opportunity for someone who has been in higher education and college athletics to come on board and make a difference."

Shelton will receive a $455,000 base salary plus about $30,000 for his retirement account. He has the potential to earn another $135,000 in incentives, bringing his total annual compensation to $620,000. At UA, his total compensation was $614,600.

If Shelton achieves goals set to receive his incentive pay - those involve compliance matters, staff development, charitable growth and ticket revenue - he could become the highest-paid executive among the four major Bowl Championship Series games.

Scott McKibben, the Rose Bowl's executive director, has said he has a base salary of $425,000 but can earn up to a $200,000 bonus. The director of the Sugar Bowl earns just less than $600,000, while the Orange Bowl's director earns slightly less than $507,000 a year, according to those bowls' most recent financial records.

At an introductory news conference Tuesday at the bowl's Scottsdale headquarters, Shelton told more than 50 volunteers donned in canary-colored Fiesta Bowl blazers that the organization would have a more visible presence around the state. He also said problems were caused by a handful of people no longer with the bowl.

"Those troubles reflect a few individuals, and they do not reflect the kind of folks you see around this room and the 3,000 volunteers and incredible staff," Shelton said.

Before his hiring as executive director, Shelton was on the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee that imposed punishment, including a $1 million fine, on the Fiesta Bowl for its misdeeds. The BCS is responsible for choosing the top postseason games in college football, and the Fiesta Bowl was in danger of getting kicked out of the four-bowl club.

Shelton said Tuesday he listened to discussions regarding the sanctions, but he recused himself from voting because he was from Arizona.

In allowing the Fiesta Bowl to retain its position, the BCS ordered the bowl to cut ties with board members who engaged in inappropriate behavior and to hire a new outside auditor or find a new supervisory partner at the existing audit firm, which is PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Shelton said he is open to finding a new outside auditor to have "new eyes take new looks at things."

He declined to speculate on the future of Alan Young, the bowl's former chairman who was hired earlier this year as chief of staff when Junker was placed on administrative leave. He is being paid $110,000 a year.

Young, the bowl's 2009 board chairman, admitted to letting the bowl pay for him to take expensive out-of-state trips with Junker. He also signed off on a cursory initial investigation - later called a whitewash by the BCS - that dismissed claims by current and former employees in a December 2009 Arizona Republic story that the bowl had reimbursed employees for making political campaign contributions.

Shelton, in an interview, said Young had been a remarkable volunteer for decades and had provided a "real stabilizing influence for the staff and volunteers." He said the bowl had to recognize the role he had played, and no decision had been made on his future.

Woods, however, said that when Shelton comes on board, Young likely would work more with volunteers. Woods said he expected Young to remain in the bowl's employ for the remainder of his two-year contract.